I buy a lot of stuff online, and I realized that I was not providing HoofPrints' customers with the same experience that I expect from the online merchants that I patronize.
My website supports the reviews option. But in the past I was afraid to activate it. What if a few cranky people with unreasonably high expectations leave a bunch of angry comments?
I know that I personally am not inclined to take my time to hunt up a product I've purchased and compose some sensible prose about it - unless something about it (or the vendor) really tick me off. Or, if the product is so unexpectedly amazing that I feel compelled to sing its praises to the world.
95% of the time, though, stuff that pleases me by performing as expected... well I remember, and that it influences my decision to continue to shop with that company, but my opinions are kept to myself. For these reasons, I worried that HoofPrints' reviews might be unfairly skewed to the negative.
But 2021 is my year to put on the big girl panties, so I activated the reviews option, and am now prepared to address publicly the negatives as well as the positives - and everything in between.
At any rate, I am writing today to ask you, if you're so inclined, to go to HoofPrints website and write an honest review (or several) for products that you've purchased.
At the top of each product, under the item number, you'll see a row of stars. Near that is a link to click to submit your review. Below is what it looks like after you click the link.
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Select the number of stars - 5 = highest/best, 1 = lowest/worst. From there, you can weigh in your opinions. Did the product(s) perform or fit as expected? Even if the answer is "no" - tell us why. On garments especially, how they fit is a biggie - if you're inclined to share your personal stats in regard to this, it's super helpful. For example: "I am 5'10", weight 150-ish, and normally wear a Large. I ordered size Large in this garment, it fit a bit on the snug side the sleeves are a little too short." (you get the idea).
Your contact info is optional - and the email address does not show up in the reviews. It takes a while for them to update in the system, so you may not see your review on the website right away, if you're having trouble submitting, you can email it to me gina@hoofprints.com and I will submit for you from this end. You can see what other folks have posted already on a few products here, here and here
Thank you in advance for your help with this. Even if you have reviews that are not 5 star, I want to see them!
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What's on sale?
12+ Garments - some under $10 - and look at their 5 STAR reviews!
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Since I activated the website's reviews feature, and some products already have reviews!
Most (but not all) are 5 star - but absolutely all are useful to a shopper as far as making informed purchases.
In some instances the reviews have helped me to edit a product's description for the better.
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What's popular? These two T-shirts - and they're under $10!
I Train Horses... To Eat Carrots - Available in two new colors, the soft fabric is a medium weight that is cool, soft and washes up great. Distressed, screenprinted logo is HoofPrints' own. Most surprising about these is the Vintage Chocolate is outselling the Vintage Purple. Which is an all time first - historically, colors in the blue family always outperform the earth tones.
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The rest of the story about the I TRAIN HORSES TO EAT CARROTS logo: Now, these shirts were designed with a tiny bit of sarcasm - as a joke for those of us who want to train our horses using non-forceful methods (treats) and who occasionally encounter less-than-stellar results. It's a whole 'nother story, but I personally found myself a bit lost after I decided to swear off using the option of punishment when working with my horses. I can't always get the results I am hoping for, but I CAN, always get them to eat a carrot. It's a lighthearted way of looking at the learning process (both mine and theirs.)
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What else is on SALE? LOOK AT ALL THESE GREAT BOOKS!!!
My efforts to clear the warehouse (and my house- house) of accumulated oddball products continues to gain momentum. I've written about it before. The point continues to be, sometimes the space becomes more valuable than the items that are occupying it. So this is where most places say... "our loss is your gain!" Well, check out this super-cheap stuff and BUY IT. And your gain will be my gain, too. Because I need that space on the shelf.
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The Half Price Page is here - check this often as they're one-of-a-kind things that will sell quickly and be replaced with whatever else starts to get on my nerves. I am currently going through a large stash of sample books - so many wonderful titles, it's hard to choose just a handful for the catalog. And the rest have got to go! Only one of each available so act fast if you see something you like.
Marked Down Page is here - it features items that are being phased out - still lots of good deals to be had there, too.
Wanna drill things down? I made sale departments for some specific categories:
Sale Books are here. Lots of good titles - most are half off retail price.
Sale JEWELRY is here - The more I got to digging, the more I found. Jewelry doesn't take up much room - suffice to say there is a LOT of lovely stuff that needs to find a new home.
Sale ART here - there are a lot of lovely prints languishing in drawers here that really should be hanging on folks' walls making them smile and beautifying their homes.
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One of my favorite HALF PRICE books is Elizabeth Letts' The Perfect Horse
Most of us older folks remember the 1963 Disney movie Miracle of the White Stallions; the story of the evacuation of the Lipizzaner horses from the Spanish Riding School in Vienna during World War II. Somehow, 50-something year old horse lover Elizabeth Letts managed to not see this movie growing up. In doing research for another book, she stumbled upon a 1946 pamphlet that featured Lipizzan horses at a military base in Virginia. One thing lead to another, and this ended up being the topic of her next book, her previous being the best-selling Eighty Dollar Champion.
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She outlines some of the major differences between the story line in the Disney movie vs details noted via her extensive research on the subject;
"In the Disney movie, the role of the brave German and Czech officers who risked treason to save the horses was completely erased, as was the fact that Podhajsky was appointed to his position as Director of the Spanish Riding School by the Germans after they annexed Austria in 1939. Disney also spins the fact that during the war years, the Spanish Riding School was under the control of the German military.
One of the most striking and moving facets of this story, to me, as an historian, was that even the bitterest of enemies can work toward a common good. In The Perfect Horse, the men shared a common code of honor toward horses that they had learned during their education as cavalry soldiers, and I believe this was what helped them to come together when the horses needed them. The Disney version was released at the height of the Cold War– at that time it was typical for storylines to play up the Russian menace and downplay Austria’s wartime cooperation with the Germans. Now, more than seventy years since war’s end, we are able to take a more balanced look at the story." source
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Here's a video of Elizabeth discussing the story line of The Perfect Horse at The Hudson Library and Historical Society. It's super interesting, and really makes me appreciate a couple things - #1 - the serendipitous events that can lead to an idea for a book, and #2 - the incredible amount of effort and research that was put into learning about the topic, let alone the writing skills needed to craft it into a story that folks will want to read.
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The result is a compelling account for animal lovers and World War II buffs alike, The Perfect Horse tells for the first time the full story of these events. Elizabeth Letts’s exhilarating tale of behind-enemy-lines adventure, courage, and sacrifice brings to life one of the most inspiring chapters in the annals of human valor. |
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ABOUT THE COMPANY
Gina Keesling started HoofPrints in 1986 to provide helpful promotional materials for farrier husband Rob. Along the way she added a fun selection of horse and dog products geared toward women of a certain age. This newsletter is emailed to subscribers a few times a month. Watch for sales, stories (including stories about things like vintage farrier rigs) and more.
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I have awesome customer service reps available 24/7 to take your order or answer questions at 765-724-7004, or email gina@hoofprints.com |
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